"Teacher, bid my government divide the inheritance with me."

By ( articles ) | Sep 09, 2005

And the multitude asked him: "What then shall we do?" And he answered them, "He who has two coats, lobby the government to set up a program for him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."

Or words to that effect. Compare Luke 3:11.

Does a nation's government have a moral obligation to help people in other countries? You can argue the point. But Christians have a divine command to help the needy. If you shift the onus of responsibility from the Christian community-- the Church-- to the government, you don't increase the amount of money available for the poor; you just decrease the level of charity.